February 10 - 15

Hello Parents/Guardians! 

W.O.W (Words of the Week) Words: 

1. kind
2. friend
3. nice
4. care
5. grateful

Weekly Highlights:

• This week in Social Studies we learned about the different types of communities people can live in: urban, suburban, and rural.  We learned about the different characteristics of each and what we would see in each type of community.  We learned that communities change over time and read a story called, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton.  In the beginning of the story the little house was in a rural community surrounded by big open fields and farm animals.  Over time more houses were built, roads were built, and it became a suburban community. The community continued to grow around the little house and it was eventually surrounded by a c-train and large skyscrapers, becoming an urban community. 

We made a rural/urban flip book and wrote what kinds of things we find in each place.

·       In math, we continued to learn about addition.  We practiced counting on (forwards) and counting back (backwards). We learned that when we count forwards we are adding, and when we count backwards we are subtracting.  When we count forwards by 1s we are adding 1, when we count forwards by 2s we are adding 2.  We can then use this to help us add numbers quickly.  We practiced using different strategies to add such as: using your fingers and counting on, using manipulatives like 2 sided counters, and drawing a picture.  When adding 2 numbers we practiced starting with the larger number, eg. 4+11=____, start with 11 and count on 4 numbers to get the answer.  We practiced adding more than 2 numbers and adding using the vertical notation, remembering to line the numbers correctly.

• In art we made our kindness cards for the community walk next Wednesday.  

Reminders:

Valentines:

As a grade 1 team, we will NOT be handing out Valentines cards in class.  Instead, the grade 1 students will be participating in kindness activities throughout the month of February.

Field Trips:

1. Kindness Walk:

Grade one students will be working on kindness over the next few weeks. We will be creating kindness cards to deliver throughout the communities around SVS. We are looking for volunteers on Wednesday February 12th from 2:30-3:45pm (dismissal) to help us deliver our cards.

2. Glenbow Museum:

If you have not yet paid for the field trip the cost is $20.00.  Please log into your Power School account to pay this fee.  If you have any issues with payment please contact the office at 403-777-6660.

Skating:

The students will have the opportunity to skate during the week of February 10-13th.  Our class will be skating at the following times: 

• Monday February 10th 1:41-2:17
• Wednesday February 12th 1:41-2:17

If you are able to volunteer please contact Ms. Latham at ajlatham@cbe.ab.ca.

Mindfulness Mondays:

As part of our Mindfulness Mondays, all students at Simons Valley school will be taking 15-20 minutes, once a month, to stop and watch a yoga video. If students do not wish to participate they can lay quietly on their mats until the video is over.

Community Skating:

Sandstone MacEwan Community Association has been collecting used skates for kids in the community who cannot afford to skate. If you are a family who would like to receive or who would like to donate skates, please contact info@sandstomemacewan.com.  As well, if you are interested, there is a family willing to do some sharpening and some intro lessons! What a great opportunity!

Ask Me About:

1. How can I fill a friend's bucket?

2. What would I find in each of the following communities?

a. urban

b. suburban

c. rural

3. Read, read, read!!